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Contents; Note to the Third Edition; Preface; 1 Introduction: From Social Problems to Social Policies; 2 The Social Worldview of Medieval Christianity as Prologue; 3 Secular Transitions and Assumptions; 4 Marx, Durkheim, and the Limits of Laissez-Faire Capitalism; 5 From Theory to Ideology; 6 Origins of Social Policy in Europe and the United States; 7 Alternative Approaches to Social Policy; 8 Social Cohesion and Inequality; 9 Poverty; 10 Unemployment: The Sword of Damocles; 11 Support for Child Raising; 12 Support for the Aged; 13 Health Care; 14 Ethnic and Racial Policy

15 Incarceration as Social Policy16 Summary: Principles for Progressive Social Policy; Afterword: Social Policy and the Great Recession; Notes; Bibliography; Index; About the Author

Summary: <span><span style=""font-style:italic;"">Double Standard</span><span> introduces students to social policy in the U.S. and Europe. The third edition has been revised and updated throughout to reflect current social policies in light of the recent recession, the Affordable Care Act and how it compares to European health care, paid vacation on both sides of the Atlantic, and more.</span></span><br /><span><span> </span></span>

Contents; Note to the Third Edition; Preface; 1 Introduction: From Social Problems to Social Policies; 2 The Social Worldview of Medieval Christianity as Prologue; 3 Secular Transitions and Assumptions; 4 Marx, Durkheim, and the Limits of Laissez-Faire Capitalism; 5 From Theory to Ideology; 6 Origins of Social Policy in Europe and the United States; 7 Alternative Approaches to Social Policy; 8 Social Cohesion and Inequality; 9 Poverty; 10 Unemployment: The Sword of Damocles; 11 Support for Child Raising; 12 Support for the Aged; 13 Health Care; 14 Ethnic and Racial Policy

15 Incarceration as Social Policy16 Summary: Principles for Progressive Social Policy; Afterword: Social Policy and the Great Recession; Notes; Bibliography; Index; About the Author

<span><span style=""font-style:italic;"">Double Standard</span><span> introduces students to social policy in the U.S. and Europe. The third edition has been revised and updated throughout to reflect current social policies in light of the recent recession, the Affordable Care Act and how it compares to European health care, paid vacation on both sides of the Atlantic, and more.</span></span><br /><span><span> </span></span>

Description based upon print version of record.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In this earnest, constructive book, Russell (Eastern Connecticut State Univ.) provides a systematic sketch of the way Europeans and Americans conceive of social welfare and deliver it in different ways. Written in short, easily digestible chapters, the book draws on the extensive literature on the distinctions among welfare states, such as Gosta Esping-Andersen's The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (CH, Oct'90, 28-1046). Six chapters provide the intellectual background for the welfare state, weaving together a wide range of individual ideas (including those of St. Augustine, Durkheim, Marx, Freud, and Einstein) and connecting them to a fabric of socialist, liberal, and conservative ideology. Valuable chapters lay out the differences between European and US policies for alleviating inequality, poverty, unemployment, family and child needs, and economic insecurity for the aged. Russell also adds unique, very helpful chapters on racial, ethnic, and immigrant policy, and on incarceration. The book provides a valuable introduction to comparative welfare practices and European concepts such as social inclusion. This competitively priced book, which includes a serviceable bibliography, will be useful for undergraduate and graduate students in social work, comparative public policy, and antipoverty policy. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic levels/libraries. D. B. Robertson University of Missouri--St. Louis